


Tommy's Girl

by callistawolf



Series: AUs are Sexy [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Break Up, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 12:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callistawolf/pseuds/callistawolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver is in love. The only problem is, she's his best friend's girlfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tommy's Girl

**Author's Note:**

> based off a prompt: I really like you but you’re my best friend’s ex. 
> 
> I know what the tags look like but I swear this is fluff.

“I’m glad you and I are able to stay friends, Oliver,” Felicity told him when they met for coffee the day after she broke up with his best friend, Tommy. “Although, I’d understand if it was too weird for you.”

Oliver shook his head forcefully. “Felicity, no. I-- I don’t want to stop being your friend. Actually, that’s why I asked you to coffee this morning.”

Tommy had called him last night, to tell him about the breakup. He’d gotten in from another failed date, this time with a woman named Helena Bertinelli who was still hung up on her ex. In a way, they had that in common. She was still in love with Michael and Oliver was in love with Felicity. So while they’d commiserate their doomed romances with one another, there’d been no actual attraction between the two of them. Frankly, it’d been a relief. Oliver had dreaded the date ever since his mother set him up on it, urging him to get out there and “meet people.”

Oliver had zero interested in meeting people. He’d already met the love of his life and she was dating his  _ best friend _ . 

Tommy met Felicity two years ago, while Oliver was still dating his own ex, Laurel. He’d barely seen Tommy at all for the two weeks of their relationship and when he’d finally introduced them at Big Belly Burger, Oliver understood why his friend had been keeping her to himself. 

Felicity was beautiful in a way that snuck up on you. She had an open, engaging expression, wide expressive eyes and full, pouty lips that she always painted a bright, kissable color. She wore her hair in a ponytail almost all the time and wore flirty little skirts and dresses that made his palms itch. All of this was true the night he’d met her. And then she’d talked.  She’d talked about  _ everything _ , and with such enthusiasm and delight that it was impossible not to smile along with her, even when he didn’t understand half of what she was talking about.  By the time she’d excused herself to the ladies room, Oliver was smitten. 

“What do you think?” Tommy had asked, smiling at him from across the booth. 

“She doesn’t seem your usual type,” Oliver had mentioned lightly. 

“I know. I’m surprising myself. But she’s so damn appealing with those big blue eyes. And she’s so smart! She works at QC, you know. IT department. Practically runs it, from what I gather.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. The actual head of IT is a moron,” Oliver had agreed. 

He’d tried so hard that night to play off his actual impression of Felicity. He was sure that Tommy didn’t want to hear how Oliver was attracted to his girlfriend. So he kept things friendly, polite. He’d thought if he could keep a distance from Felicity, that he could avoid temptation. Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough for Felicity. She’d wormed her way into his life, practically demanding his friendship. And he was simply powerless to resist her. 

Things with Laurel had fizzled for good shortly after Tommy and Felicity started dating. They were just too similar. And they wanted different things. Since then, he’d dated just about every eligible female over the age of 21 and under the age of 35 in Starling City. There’d been no connection with any of them, and he’d definitely tried. He’d tried simply so he could get thoughts of Felicity out of his head. 

It hadn’t really worked. 

Still, he’d done the right things and sat on his feelings, even as they continued to grow. He and Felicity became good friends, outside of her relationship with Tommy. She was one of the few people he felt he could truly be himself with. When he was having a bad day, or his parents were driving him crazy, Felicity was always the first person he went to talk about it. She was always the one who made him feel better about things. 

Just about the time Oliver had finally resigned himself to never having a chance with Felicity… she and Tommy broke up. He’d gotten the call from Tommy late last night. 

~~~

“I moved out,” Tommy told him, sounding more pragmatic than upset. 

“What the hell?  Why?”  Oliver’s mind raced. “What did you do?”

“Why do you assume that  _ I _ did something?”

“Just call it a hunch,” Oliver said. “What happened?”

“I… started seeing someone.  Someone else.”

Oliver felt like he was the one who’d been punched in the gut. Why on earth would Tommy, why would  _ anyone _ , cheat on  _ Felicity _ ? “Are you insane?” he growled.

“Oliver, it just… happened. And I didn’t keep it from Felicity. I told her right away.”

Oliver swallowed. “Is she… okay?” 

“Yeah. I mean, she cried. I cried too. I love her.  You know I do. But just not… that way. I told her she deserves someone who loves her with their whole heart.” He paused and chuckled. “She agreed.”

“I agree with her too,” Oliver said. 

Tommy’s chuckle through the phone was dry. “Of course you do.  You’re in love with her.”

Oliver opened his mouth to reply but ended up gaping like a fish. He stood up from where he’d been sitting on his sofa and paced in front of the windows that overlooked the city. “Wh--why would you say that?” 

“Oliver, c’mon man. I’ve known you almost all my life. I could tell right away.”

He winced. “But you never said anything.”

“I didn’t want to make you feel bad.”

“I’m so sorry, Tommy.”

“Nah, listen. I worried for a while that you might make a move on her but it became pretty clear after a while that you were being the honorable friend. And… that meant a lot to me. It still does.”

“I would never move on her, Tommy. You have to know that.”

“I know that now. But I want to say… if you wanted to make a play for her now, I’m cool with it.”

Just when he thought his best friend was done surprising him, he pulls out  _ that _ . “What? Tommy…”

“And I’m cool with it because I want you to grant me the same permission?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The someone else I met? It’s Laurel.”

Oliver burst out laughing. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“I’m not. I ran into her last week and we had lunch. Caught up on old times. And… there’s something there.”

“Tommy… it’s more than okay.”

His best friend blew out a relieved breath. “I’m so glad to hear you say that. I don’t think I could have stopped these feelings but… at least now I don’t have to suffer in silence for two years. Like some people I know.” 

“Tommy…”

“Call her. Talk to her. Tell her how you feel.”

“Tommy, she just broke up with you. I don’t think now is a good time.”

“Okay, maybe not. But I promise you, she wasn’t as broken up as she could have been. We were dating for  _ two years _ . You’d think that’d make her more upset, that both of us would be more upset. But it was more like… recognition. I think we both saw it coming. And that’s before I ever had lunch with Laurel.”

“I’ll give her a call. Maybe we’ll go get some coffee.”

~~~

Felicity smiled at him over the rim of her coffee cup. “I’m so glad you still want to be friends, Oliver. You’re really important to me.” 

Pleasure at hearing her say that spread through him. “You’re important to me too, Felicity. You’ve become one of my best friends.”

And that was when he felt something he hadn’t expected to ever feel about his relationship with Felicity; anticipation. Because for the first time since he met her, Oliver had hope of being able to maybe have something with her. It was all dependant on how she felt, but he was pretty confident in his wooing skills. He’d take her to the movies, to see all her favorites. He’d go with her to concerts. Take her to dinner. Go with her to the mall. Maybe some late nights at her place watching Netflix. Then maybe he’d bring her flowers. And after a month or two of that, he’d tell her that he has feelings for her. And if she has feelings for him too? He’ll kiss her. 

But Oliver knows that he needs to be sure. He needs to play this carefully, not rush things, not play his cards too soon. Because this is a once in a lifetime shot for him, and he knows with bone-deep certainty that once he starts kissing Felicity? He won’t ever want to stop. 


End file.
